“He was, sir.”Charles paused.“But I doubt you are punching the earl in the mouth.Lords are far too high for such behavior.”
“You would be wrong there, Charles.Many lords have come to fisticuffs over women.”
Leith remembered that, not long ago, Monty hadhimby the throat in Breminster House.The rage in his eyes when he had discovered what Leith had done all those years ago—he didn’t think he would ever forget it.At one point, Leith had been sure that his best friend was going to kill him.
“Did you quarrel with the earl over a Lillian, sir?”
“Not exactly,” Leith said, thinking that, perhaps, he had been too open-handed with Charles in this matter.He didn’t particularly want to explain to the boy what he had done with Olivia and Monty all those years ago, after all.“But I—I owe him a debt.And he asked me to make this woman—you’ll soon meet her—my mistress.”
“What is she like, sir?”
“She’s from the country.”
“Well, then, we must show her the best of London.”
Unaccountably, Leith found himself moved by this kind, innocent sentiment.
Had he ever been as naïve and sweet as Charles?he wondered.
He remembered being his age, of course.But, unless he was mistaken, he had been nowhere near as good as Charles, who appeared to naturally harbor kinder sentiments than Leith at any age.
“Yes,” he said, thinking that, perhaps, he could follow Monty’s edict and merely show Miss Salisbury a pleasant time about the city.“Perhaps we shall.”
Chapter Four
His townhome inSt.James’s was finer than Beatrice had expected.
In truth, finer than anywhere than she had ever been, excepting Carrington House.
And whereas Carrington House was an earl’s residence, a traditional and stately family home, this house had clearly been designed with a lady in mind—or, Beatrice supposed,manyladies.
She did not doubt that the powder-blue couches, peach carpeting, and dainty woodworking of the space had delighted many of the women who had found themselves here.
However, to Beatrice’s eye, the place seemed a bit fastidious.It lacked a sense of comfort, although it was very nicely done up.The house did nothing to dispel her impression of Lord Leith as a coxcomb.A kind of Beau Brummell.
If it weren’t for the modest size of the town house, she would have thought him profligate, too.But no one who took in the proportions of the place could quite believe such a thing.While the town house was fitted up in a luxurious style, it had only three small floors.
This evidence of economy reassured her.It would have unnerved her to be dealing with a man unable to employ his reason.
And she did have to admit that the large window overlooking the quaint garden below was quite beautiful.All in all, it would not be a terrible place to spend two weeks.
“Lor, Bea, you have to look at your bedchamber!”
She turned away from the beautiful drawing room window and towards her sister’s voice.Sally came bustling into the drawing room, her eyes wide.
“You are impressed with the place?”
“Bea, it’s beautiful!”
“Yes,” she said, casting a look around.“I suppose it is.”
“You don’t care for it?”
“It’s a bit fussy for my taste, I suppose.”
“I am sorry to hear that,” a male voice rang out from behind Sally.The girl jumped upon hearing it and whirled around.
Lord Leith stood at the top of the stairs.
